Child's Play
by Lianna-snow
Summary: Completely AU. Starts when all of them are in elementary school. Ziva gets Tony hurt while playing a game. Tony gets Ziva hurt by playing with Kate. Awkward situations ensue.
1. Chapter 1

Child's Play Chapter 1

A/N: I know. I'm an idiot for taking on so many stories at once. But a plot bunny here just kept popping into my head, and refused to leave until I wrote something. So here it is:) It's completely AU, and it goes back to when all of them are children. The story is set during their elementary school days. And YES, as you can see, it's gonna be a multi chapter one. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE LONG. Don't worry. I am going to make this one AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE. Haha. However short that may be-.-

Hope you enjoy the story:)

NCIS. #KIDS. #TIVA.

###

The clearing behind the classroom block had been made into a playground for the children to play while they wait for their parents to pick them up after class. There was a swing set in one of the corners, accompanied by a few see saws and slides scattered around a big sand box in the centre of it. Currently, it looked like an old, abandoned place, but the moment the bell rung, the once lonely playground would be filled with the life and sound of children laughing.

A little girl with masses of chestnut curls framing her face, was the last one to leave the classroom. Her eyes wandered across the entire playground until she caught sight of the person she was looking for. He was seated with his group of friends, and had probably said something funny, because all of them started laughing. She envied him a little, for being able to keep up his smile and humor constantly. A small smile appeared on her face when he happened to turn and catch her eye for a moment. However, the moment passed as she quickly turned her back on them, and headed to the swing set to read her book.

She was so engrossed with the words on the page she was reading, that she did not notice that someone had walked up to her. She looked up in annoyance when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. "Yes?" She said, making no effort to disguise her irritance at the disturbance.

"Hi! You're Ziva, right? I'm Abby. You looked lonely, sitting here all by yourself, so do you wanna come over and play with us?" A younger looking girl with her jet black hair tied up into two ponytails asked as she pointed to the group in the distance. Her request seemed genuine, so she conceded.

"Awesome! I know you're in our class, so you should probably know everyone; but in case you don't, Tim is the one being chased by the other two. I call him Timmy!" She turned her head to watch as the little boy ran as fast as he could, hugging something tightly to his chest. She thought that he ran in a funny way, but the way he was so protective over whatever he was holding, was very cute.

"The guy over there who started teasing him is Tony. He's the sweetest guy and tells the best jokes ever! He always cheers me up when I'm sad." Abby said. She smiled a bit at that. She didn't need any introduction for him. On her first day, Tony had come up to her and said she looked like Salma Hayek. He then proceeded to try to steal her lunch while she stared at him, stunned. Needless to say, Tony ended up with a scraped knee and a bruised shoulder.

"The pretty girl laughing and running after him is Kate. She's the one who did my hair so nicely." Abby continued, smiling herself, at the way the older girl was happily racing with Tony to catch Tim. She thought that the girl was indeed pretty, but she couldn't help the slight disappointment she felt when she saw how close she and Tony were.

By the time they reached the group, Kate had pinned Tim to the floor while laughing, and Tim had surrendered his toy to Tony, who was looking at it with a disgusted expression.

"C'mon Tony, give it back!" Came his pleading voice.

"Wow. Kate, c'mere and see this! The toy has a sticker that says: 'I belong to Tim McGee'." Kate suddenly got off him, and hopped over to Tony to see the sticker. The two giggled while Abby went to help Tim up.

"It's an action figure! And it's really expensive. So, please give it back?" Tim asked. Kate paused for a moment, before taking it from Tony.

"Alright. That's only cause I know that your dad will kill you if you don't bring it back in one piece." Kate said, when she saw a car pulling up out front.

"Thank you, Kate. Bye guys!" Tim said gratefully, before sticking it quickly into his backpack and running off towards the car.

"Why did you not stick up for Tim just now?" Ziva asked, and she settled down beside Abby.

"Oh, once you've been friends with them for a while, you'll know that they're just teasing him." Abby smiled at her, and started to pack her things as she saw a familiar figure come towards them.

"I gotta go, my dad's here. Bye, my new friend!" Abby suddenly reached out and grabbed Ziva into a quick hug. Ziva froze for a moment. She wasn't used to human contact, and suddenly, this girl is hugging her like there's no tomorrow. Abby pulled away and ran to hug the other two, before going off.

Ziva resumed reading her book. She could hear the distant sounds of people saying goodbye, and she could feel the air growing colder as evening drew nearer. She was not surprised when her book was snatched away from her.

"What do you want, Tony?" She said angrily.

"You're so boring! Why aren't you enjoying yourself playing? Instead of reading all these books in... Mandarin?" He said while staring at her book curiously.

"It is in Hebrew, Tony, and give me back my book." She said as she turned to get her bag.

"Come get it, then!" He started running without giving her a warning. She didn't hesitate to run after him, knowing that he would run out of breath in a while, and she could catch him like last time.

Although her face was black, and her mouth set into a pout, Ziva secretly enjoyed their game. They ran around the playground and Ziva soon saw her oppurtunity and pushed him to the floor. He ended up on his back, with Ziva sitting on his back. She had pinned his arms and took her book back, but she didn't budge from her position.

"Hey Zi, you could totally become some hot cop when you grow up!" He coughed out. She seemed to recollect her thoughts and slowly stood up. Tony felt a sharp pain in his leg when he turned over, and winced. He guessed that the wound from last time had reopened.

"What happened?" She asked, noticing that he had yet to get up from his position.

"I think it's the wound from the last time you hit me. This is all your fault!" He said while clutching his knee.

"My fault? How can it be my fault? You were the one who challenged me." She answered him as she started walking away.

"Hey! You made me fall! You ought to help me since the school's about to close." He shouted at her receding figure. She stopped. Before he knew it, she had pulled him up and was dragging him towards the exit.

"Where are you taking me?" He suddenly asked, when he realised that they were heading in the opposite direction from his house.

"My place. It is nearer, and I have medical supplies. " She replied, unfazed by his whining about his knee because they were walking so fast.

###

"Ziva! Why are you home so late?" Her father's voice rung out in Hebrew the moment she stepped into the house. "Hello Father." She greeted him in Hebrew, making Tony look at her curiously.

"I am late because of him." She replied in English when she reached him. She nodded her head towards Tony, who was sitting in the living room. He raised his eyebrow at her, while Ziva scurried off to find the first aid kit.

"Hello Mr David. I'm Tony Dinozzo. I'm in your daughter's class." Tony said, when an older man came to sit in front of him.

"Please, call me Eli. It is a pleasure to meet you. Ziva does not usually bring her friends home." His thick Israeli accent didn't surprise Tony. Eli was a big sized man, and his demeanour itself was enough to make Tony sit up just a bit straighter in his seat.

"Oh! I don't think I'm counted as her friend, per say. She just felt guilty for beating me up, and allowed me to use her first aid kit."

"She...hit you?" Eli did not seem surprised at the fact that his daughter hit a boy, but more likely became suspicious of him.

"Oh no, that was the first time. This was an accident. She just pushed me." He said, when Ziva finally returned, holding a white box. Eli took this as his cue to leave, and walked off towards the kitchen.

"Tony, roll up your pants." Ziva commanded, the moment they were alone.

"It's alright Ziva, I can do it myself, but thanks." He said, leaning down to pull the ends of his jeans up.

"Let me see how bad it is." She continued to kneel in front of his leg.

"Ziva, it's a matter of a man's pride. I want to do it myself." He said convincingly.

"Oh please, you are no further than Tim, when it comes to being a man." She retorted, but she did get up unwillingly and sat beside him on the couch.

"I'm hurt, Ziva. Really!" He said and put his hand over his chest. He cleaned his wound and placed the bandage over it while Ziva watched him.

"Hey Ziva, you weren't waiting for your parents to pick you up. So, why didn't you go home earlier?" He said softly, breaking the silence they had fallen into.

"Speak for yourself, Tony. You didn't go home either." She replied. He could have sworn that her face had turned a light shade of pink when she turned away from him.

"Oh, well, that's easy. I stayed behind so I could accompany Kate until her parents came to pick her up." Something about the way he said that sentence made Ziva snap inside. She got up abruptly, ending their conversation.

"It is getting late. Your parents do not know that you are here, yes?" She said snippily.

"Yep. I'll get going now. Thanks again." Tony knew that he had somehow upset her, and that he should leave while she hadn't killed him yet. Just as he was opening the door, he heard a shuffling of feet and suddenly, there was a little girl in front of him.

"WHOA! Hello, little ninja!" He smiled cheerfully at the girl who looked slightly younger than Ziva. She was the spitting image of Ziva, except that her features were more gentle than her sister's, and although he could see the same fiery streak, he knew that she was probably the baby of the family.

"That is not my name! My name is Tali David. Most people call me Tali, but sometimes my mother calls me 'young lady' when I get in trouble. I like you, so you can call me Tali!" She said as she slowly let him out. "You should come over more often! I think my sis likes you!"

That made Tony pause, and turn to look at the grinning child, who was staring at him with hopeful and mischievous eyes. Then, all of a sudden, she wasn't there anymore, and all he could hear was a muffled goodbye from upstairs.

###

"I just wanted to meet him! You didn't have to be so mean!" The younger girl pouted when her older sister finally released her grip on her. Ziva had pulled her up the stairs and as far away from the window as possible.

"He is none of your business, Tali. I have nothing to do with him." Ziva replied stonily. She focused her attention on her sister, instead of on the fact that Tony had basically said that he liked Kate.

"Does that mean I can have a try at him?" Her sister asked cheekily. Before Tali had a chance to react, she was pushed down onto the floor with her arms pinned to the floor. Secretly, she was amused that her sister could actually get all fired up because of a boy; outwardly, she knew it was unwise to show her amusement.

Ziva found herself being picked up and forced to release her sister by her father. "No." She glared at her younger sister with finality.

"What's with all this yelling? Ziva, your friend has gone home?" Eli asked.

"Yes, Father." She replied.

"He's the one that Ziva always talks about!" When Tali said that, Ziva's eyes widened and she immediately clamped her hand over her mouth and turned her head away with embarrassment. Their father would not tolerate this, not when things were so unstable back home.

"Tali, go to your room." Said their father sternly.

The young girl realised what she had implied, and quickly mouthed "sorry" to her sister as she walked to her room. She felt like an idiot.

Eli led his older daughter to the living room where Tony had just been. He was curious on why she had been coming home later ever since they transferred her to a new school. Now, he knew.

"Tali says you like this boy, " Eli started.

"She was lying." Said Ziva, in a calm voice, betraying none of her emotions.

"I'm not asking, Ziva." He cut her off patiently. Something he had not done lately. It just occurred to him how little he actually knew his children.

Ever since their family communications started breaking down, relationships with between everyone became more strained. He therefore, in an attempt to salvage his family before things went too far, got his family to pack up and migrate to America. He thought the change of scenery would do them some good, and give them all time to think. Plus, he had ties in America, and he could also work from there.

When Ziva let out a sigh, he knew he had won this round.

"Tony also told me that you beat him up a few times." At that, she didn't know how to reply. She knew her words had to be chosen very carefully, because her father was being vague and she didn't know what he was fishing for. She nodded.

"You shouldn't be beating up guys in school." He asked the underlying question, and she knew she had walked into a trap.

She should have known, her father usually caught the people he questioned in a statement a long time before he actually asked the question. She figured that she should be prepared the next time this happened. The only thing she could do was tell the truth. Sadly.

"He never pays any attention to me. He always plays with Kate, so it was the only way I could get him to notice me." She said quietly. She was expecting a lecture on how she was too young to be jealous, or a punishment, but instead, all he did was pet her head and walk off.

Ziva sat by herself in silence, wondering what Tony was doing at the moment.

###

OKAY. Truth is, that I originally intended for this to be a one shot, but I think I left it without finishing the story, so I may add on a few more chapters. So, what did you think? Should I write more? Any suggestions? Could you guys be so kind as to leave me with some reviews? Please don't be alarmed at how OOC this may be... I'm trying to stay true to the characters even as children:3

Okay I'm gonna write the next chapter now, and hopefully I can finish this mini multi chapter story soon:) thanks for reading!

~Lianna


	2. Chapter 2

Child's Play Chapter 2

Author's note: Hello;) just a forewarning, this chapter becomes more serious than the previous one, but I'll try to end this story on a happy note. After all, they are still kids:D The rest of the gang will be back in the next chapter, so stay tuned! Oh, and thanks to everyone who left me a review last chapter;) I'm really grateful, and I hope you enjoy this one:)

Special thanks to JellieEllie for agreeing to beta this^^

#Kids #Tiva #AU

Disclaimer- Don't own it:)

###

Tony left Ziva's house in a hurry. He sensed that she had been hurt when he mentioned Kate, and he didn't really know why. He had been a little confused when her sister blurted out about her "attraction" to him. For one, he was completely sure that she did not feel that way about him. It was not that he did not like her. He did, but he felt that the chances of them staying together for long were slim. Therefore, he felt that they were still young, and relationships weren't worth it because they won't last.

At this point, he had already been attracting quite a few girls' attention lately, after he started dressing nicer everyday. All he wanted was something casual, because according to adults, he was too young for a real relationship.

Kate was his best friend, along with Abby and Tim. She lived nearby and they usually saw each other often. So, it would be easy for them for be together if they wanted to, but he would never do anything that could hurt Kate in any way. They often bickered like siblings, but they were unstoppable when they combined forces. It was another reason why they loved teasing Tim.

"Hey Tony!" He looked up to see Kate waving at him from her gate. She had been waiting for him ever since her parents picked her up. Usually, Tony would head home with her, since he had to pass by her house on the way home anyway; but he told her politely that he was going to go home himself that day. She quickly opened the gate and came rushing over to him when she saw the bandage.

"Are you alright? What happened to your leg? Oh my gosh, did something happen to you after I left?" Kate started fussing over him like an older sister, and he gently pushed her wandering hands away.

"No, I'm fine, Kate. I just tripped as I was coming back." He said, as she dragged him towards her house. 'Looks like I'm not going to be able to make it home before evening, again.' He thought, as he waved to Rachel, Kate's sister, who was grinning and waving back at him from the doorway. Luckily, he didn't really care when he actually reached home anymore.

His parents used to do nothing but quarrel everyday, even during meal times. His father was a con-man, no matter how nicely he worded it, and his mother hated it. This conflict led to them arguing over the smallest things, and it would turn into huge arguements that would result in his father leaving the house or sleeping on the couch. However, it all ended when his mother passed away three years back.

Ever since then, it became almost a chore for him to even head home everyday, so he spent most of his time with his friends. His father took off regularly without reason, and left him alone for days. Tony was still a child, who disliked coming home to an empty house, and only came home to sleep most of the time.

"My little Katie was worried about me? Aww. I'm touched." He teased, as they stepped into her house. Just as he expected, she gave him a slap on his shoulder and pouted at him.

"Shut up, Tony, and I told you before not to call me that!" She turned around and walked further into the house, and Tony chuckled as he followed her inside.

###

It was after school a few days later, that Tony found Ziva waiting for him outside his house. She was sitting on the porch patiently, reading another one of her books. They had not spoken since he left her house the other day, other than a quick hello or goodbye if they passed each other. Even then, there was a measure of coldness in the way she spoke to him. Therefore, finding her quietly sitting there was quite ironic, in a way. He smiled to himself at the scene in front of him.

"Coming over and letting me in would be better than just standing there and staring at me." She said without looking up.

"You really are a ninja!" Tony said exaggeratedly. As he expected, Ziva glanced up with an eye roll but she could not conceal the smile that creeped up her face.

"It is not that. You just walk very loudly." She argued back as Tony suddenly turned to a person calling his name.

He was surprised to see his father kissing some blonde woman on the cheek and waving at her as she drive off in a Ferrari. He sincerely hoped his father would not embarrass him in front of Ziva, but alas, he knew that that was impossible.

"Hey Junior! Who's this gorgeous beauty you got here?" Anthony Dinozzo Sr said, as he kissed Ziva's hand.

"My name is Ziva David. I am assuming you are Tony's father." She said, smiling slightly at the way Tony's father turned on the charm for her.

"Ah, I think I heard some Israeli accent in there. Israel has always had the most beautiful women." He said to her, before turning back to his son. "Junior! Why aren't you opening the door? You gonna let us wait out here in the hot sun until the evening?"

Tony hated this. The way his father would constantly order him about whenever there was a girl around. It made him feel small, even around people he knew. It was one of the reasons why he never brought his friends to his home, even Kate. Then again, it was his father. He had no right to say anything, so he wordlessly picked up his luggage and opened the door.

Ziva wanted to follow Tony to his room but his father stopped her with more conversation. He was easy to talk to, and for that, she was grateful. Tony had left their presence the moment they stepped into the house. He had dropped the luggages on the floor and then, just walked off towards the stairs and left them alone.

After a while, she excused herself to go and talk to Tony, since she had yet to fulfil her original purpose of going there in the first place. Before she could, however, he passed by her swiftly on the stairs without giving her a chance to talk.

"Junior, you leaving without saying goodbye?" His father called out to him as he was unlocking the door.

"I'm just going to see someone. I'll be back soon." He said curtly.

"What about Ziva? Is sh-" Anthony Dinozzo Sr was cut off by the door shutting firmly. "That boy. I apologise for his behavior, Ziva."

"What for? He did not do anything wrong." Ziva stared curiously out of the window and followed him with her eyes. She saw him stop outside a house not far from his, and meet a young brunette whom she recognized as Kate. Her mood dropped considerably, and she slumped herself against the cushion of the sofa. She almost forgot that she had an audience.

"You like him, don't you? My son." He asked kindly. His previous tone of mischief and humor was gone, and a tone of puzzlement remained.

"No, I do not. I am just tired because I waited so long." She said.

"Actions speak louder than words, Ziva." He said, with a smirk on his face. Ziva looked at him uncertainly, before turning her gaze to the floor. "He doesn't know, does he?" She shook her head slightly before getting up.

"He thinks I beat him up just for fun." She said quietly, knowing how foolish that sounded. She was glad when the older man changed the topic.

"Hey listen, I'll be leaving again later today for another trip, my business partner agreed to sponser me. I only came back to repack my stuff. So, make sure Junior doesn't get into too much trouble, would you?" She nodded slowly, as if she was not sure if she could actually carry it out.

"If I may ask, what about Tony's mother? Why is she not the one taking care of him?" Ziva asked curiously. She had seen a few framed pictures of the three of them, on the walls, but from the looks of it, they seemed to be from a few years back.

"Oh, Tony didn't tell you? I guess he doesn't like to talk about it. We all don't. His mother died about three years ago, when he was 8 years old. Junior didn't take it real well." He said, and watched her take it all in. He noticed that her nod to his request became more definite, as if she had just made a solemn vow to herself to do her best to keep her promise.

Anthony Dinozzo Sr chuckled as the young girl left the house, and went to pack his bags. He had only put on the charms to see what her character was like. Even in that short span of time, he could tell that Ziva's hidden feelings are not as hidden as she would like, and his son probably returned them.

He wondered for the umpteenth time what kind of situation had his son had gotten himself into this time.

###

Anthony Dinozzo Jr returned to an empty and dark house. He took the note left on the table for him and crushed it. He did not even feel any disappointment at the news. His father never came back for more than a few hours, so he was used to it. He always made the same empty promise: "I'll be back in a few days. We'll get a chance to spend more time together."

Days would turn to weeks, weeks could turn into months, and by the time he came back, so much time would have passed, that Tony would just want him to get it over with and leave again. So, Tony grew up with a mother who got sick so often she did not have time to take care of him, and when she felt better, she would just spend her time arguing with Tony's father; and a father who was almost non-existent.

"Does anyone else know about your mother?" He heard Ziva's voice echo from the darkness of the living room. He clenched his fists at the mention of her.

"How did you get in here?" He asked angrily.

"I went back to tell my parents that I would be late, and have been waiting here ever since." She said smoothly, as if she had been prepared to answer his questions, and knew that he would dodge hers.

"And you never thought to turn on the lights?" He stared at the stubborn girl incredulously, and watched as she shrugged and defended her actions.

"Well, if I had left the lights on, you would not have come back to the house at all, would you?" She asked. He glared at her and disagreed, but deep down, he knew she was right. She quickly masked her emotions that stemmed from the sudden realization that if he had not come back that night, he would have slept over at Kate's house. Although she knew she had no right to be jealous, to be afraid that something might happen between them, when she had no guts to tell him herself.

Seeing that she was not going to leave until she got what she wanted, Tony went to get a drink and sat down reluctantly with her. She didn't say anything, she just waited for him to start talking.

"The things is, my mother didn't just die. She got sick, like really sick, and she started acting crazy. I mean, she drank my sea monkeys because she thought they were her mint juleps!" He waited for her response, but all she gave him was a nod to show that she was listening.

He sighed. This was going to be a very long conversation.

"Why do you care so much about my mother? You don't even know her!" Tony said with exasperation. Ziva had been questioning him for over 30 minutes without relenting, and he had grown tired of it.

"I know YOU." She finally answered. She didn't look him in the eye and he understood the unspoken continuation to her sentence.

Tony sighed heavily, as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. "You shouldn't care so much about me, Ziva. I'm not worth it."

"I believe you are more mature and brave than you let yourself show others." She said in a low voice, as she let her fingers trail across his cheek lightly. He flinched slightly, when her hand reached his lips, and she pulled away abruptly.

"I am going home now, Tony. Your father wanted me to make sure you were alright." She said, as she stood up and walked out of the house. For a second, she hoped that Tony would call her back, but when she heard the soft sound of his bedroom door closing, she quickly squashed those thoughts before they grew into disappointment.

###

End Of this chapter! How was it? Urghhh I'm so tiredddd._. My school has way too many tests, but I guess it's just one of those things that comes with being a senior. Totally fell asleep in class today, and here I am, awake in the middle of the night, writing:/ haha:$ Just kidding, I write 24/7 so it has no effect on me3

Please let me know what you think:) The end isn't far now, folks. You can see it in the near distance if you look closely at the horizon:P until, then, I hope you keep reading, and reviewing my fic:D

See you all next chapter:D

~Lianna


	3. Chapter 3

Child's Play Chapter 3

A/N: Hey guys, my proper Author's note is at the end of this chapter so read on! Hope you enjoy this chapter, because I'm quite satisfied with how this one played out:)

Disclaimer: Believing that I own this, is like believing that Spartacus is suitable for young children. Although I'm happy to have your faith.

###

As the students scrambled to save their things and get into the shelter, the rain got heavier. The rumbling thunder in the distance caused many of the younger ones to scream, causing the teachers' attention to be diverted from making sure everyone was safe.

She didn't notice the raindrops at first. They landed lightly on her clothes and skin, but she paid no attention. It was only when the water hitting her body began to feel like ice biting into her, that she looked around for anyone.

Not surprisingly, she was the last one left outside, and no one noticed. Ziva felt sad to use her book, but since she had no umbrella, using her book as a flimsy shield from the rain was better than nothing. It was not much use though, as her hair was already soaked. When she stood up, she realised that the head didn't feel like water was running down it, anymore.

Tony noticed that their class was one short before anyone else did. He left a very frightened Abby with a more calm Kate and Tim, and took an umbrella big enough for two. He knew exactly why she wasn't present, and where she would be. That girl could sit still and not budge, or notice the world around her for hours, if she was reading.

Tony smirked to himself when he spotted her, head still in her book, behind the school. She paid no attention to the raindrops, which were slowly becoming larger, that were dropping on her.

He noticed the moment she realised that it was raining. Her frame suddenly stiffened when she realized she was alone, and she quickly shut her book and used it as a shield as she zipped up her bag. She paused for a second, when the zipper couldn't go all the way. He had reached her by then, and his umbrella was sheltering her from the rain.

Ziva got up and faced him. Her eyes showed her surprise before she could hide it. Obviously, she hadn't heard or seen him come closer.

"Thank you." She said, as she picked her wet bag up and reached for the umbrella handle. Tony had no intention of letting go of it, so their hands collided somewhat not unexpectedly. Her hand was placed over his, and her eyes were locked on his. They stared at each other for a few long seconds, before they heard a teacher calling their names.

"C'mon Zi, we'd better go." He said softly.

"Play with me." She said suddenly, and Tony nearly dropped the umbrella in response.

"Wh-what?" Tony stammered. "That's got to be a joke, right? I do play with you."

His young mind was not prepared for such a direct question, from a girl especially. If there was one thing his father taught him, it was that everything a girl said, had a double meaning, and if you couldn't see it, the best thing you can do, is to act confused.

"Yes. I was joking." Her face immediately fell at his clumsy response, because he didn't get what she meant, but if he noticed, Tony didn't show it. That was the end of their conversation.

She reached over roughly and took a firm hold of the umbrella handle, and they walked the rest of the way back in silence. The only sound was from the rain, repeatedly hitting the roof of the umbrella.

###

Once they reached the school, the teachers in charge gave them a lecture about taking care of their health, and listening to instructions.

Tony took his dry coat that had been left behind in the room earlier, and placed it onto Ziva's shoulders. She glanced up at him, as if to say she didn't need it, and half slid it off. "Zi, you're soaking. Wear the coat before you get a chill." He put his hand onto her shoulder to stop her, and it worked. She slotted her arms into the long sleeves and before she knew it, Abby was pulling her over to sit with the rest of them.

"What book is that you're reading now?" The timid boy Ziva remembered as Tim, asked shyly.

"It is a book about traditions, and how they can be good or bad." She said, as simply as possible. "It was translated from English, so I think you might have heard of it." The answer seemed to satisfy the boy, and he smiled his response at her.

"Where did you come from?" Kate asked curiously. She was leaning against the wall, and slightly against Tony's side. Her voice was lower than Ziva's, and it sounded more mature. 'No wonder Tony likes her.' She thought.

"I am Israeli. My family moved here about two years ago." She replied.

After a 'formal' introduction, the group went on to play some games and she found herself having fun, surprisingly. They bonded easily, with Tony being the joker, and Kate, his partner in crime. It wasn't hard for Ziva to befriend Kate, although on her part, it was difficult at first.

Aside from them both being girls, they were very different in personality. Therefore, their conversation turned to the one topic they had in common, Tony.

"Ever think how Tony's house looks like?" Kate asked, as she ate her lunch.

"What do you mean?" Ziva turned to her in surprise.

"You know, like what wallpaper he uses, and what kind of furniture he has? Those stuff can tell you a lot about a person." She said, and both of their gazes turned to Tony, who was talking to one of the other girls in their class. The girl basically ignored him, and when Tony finally gave up, the expression on his face brought smiles the girls' faces.

"Have you ever met his parents? I hear they're really rich and spoil Tony by giving him a lot of money to spend." Kate said.

"Where did you hear that?" She asked. Her mind drifted to the time when she met Tony's father and how he seemed to not even have enough money to pay for his own business trips in and out of the country.

"Oh, from Tony, of course." Kate said, as-a-matter-of-factly. "He comes to my house almost everyday and he's told me about them a few times."

"But, you've never been to his house?" Ziva realised that his family must have been quite a big taboo topic, for someone as close to him as Kate, not to know.

"Nope. He's never let anyone go in before. He keeps saying that it's really messy and stuff." Kate said regretfully, but she quickly changed the subject, as Tony sat down next to Ziva dejectedly. "Hey Tony, that's what, strike two today?"

"Eh, those girls don't know what they're missing." He said confidently.

"Don't worry, Tony. I'm sure you'll strike out soon." Ziva said, making Kate and Tony laugh simultaneously.

"No, Zi. Wrong phrase completely, but I appreciate the thought." Tony threw a childish grin at her, and for a moment, Ziva thought that her making these kind of idiomatic mistakes wasn't so bad if he would give her a smile like that every time she made them. For that moment, she let herself believe it.

###

"And so, children, that is how I learnt my lesson of never to leave my mother alone with my mobile phone." Dr Donald Mallard finally finished telling one of his long stories in the midst of giving a presentation to the class.

As he resumed his slideshow of the advantages and disavantages of learning medicine and being a medical examiner, he realised that most of the grade 5 students were sleeping. He simply chuckled and started telling the class another story about when he was in medical school, and the teacher was extremely boring.

After his slideshow, he went on to discuss about psychology in criminal profiling. This one managed to garner a bit more attention from his audience. He talked about the effects and impacts of psychology and he was sure by the time he was done, that at least one of those students was convinced to take that course in future.

He glanced at all the children's faces and was surprised at the variety of people there were. After doing a short but thorough mental profiling on all of them, the doctor found two students the most interesting.

One of them sat in the corner of the room with his eyes on almost all the girls in his class. He was a definite player, but somehow, Dr Mallard could bet that the boy had something going on with his family.

The other one sat at the back, with her eyes specifically trained on the boy, which showed that she came from a precise background. She looked Middle Eastern, and he could tell that her family had many secrets they were hiding, even from each other.

At the end of his presentation, a young boy with a mass of curls in his hair came up to him shyly. He mentioned his name to be Jimmy Palmer, and he wanted to know more about being a medical examiner for a living. He was about to launch into a long and detailed explanation, complete with trivia, when another boy came up.

"Whoa! Loser Palmer finally has a real future, WITH DEAD PEOPLE." The freckled face boy shouted in a frightened Jimmy's ear.

Suddenly, the kid's shirt was harshly pulled back by the boy Dr Mallard had noticed earlier. His look of surprise was something that none of them would forget. "The only future YOU'RE gonna get, is BEING a dead person, if you don't learn to shut that mouth of yours." The boy said.

"Jimmy has the right to do whatever he wants, so bug off." A cute brunette girl with barretts in her hair, and standing next to him continued, as she made her way over to Jimmy. The bully was stunned after being stood up to, so he ran off.

"Dr Mallard, could you tell us what it's like to be a criminal profiler?" The little girl asked him. She only reached his thighs at her height, and the man found her to be adorable. "Please call me, Ducky, and what's your name, my dead?"

"Caitlyn, but everyone calls me Kate. That's Tony, and the girl still packing her things at her table, is Ziva." She said, as she gave him a basic introduction to everyone.

"Well Caitlyn, I think you and Anthony would be a fine addition to anyone's team." Ducky smiled as he looked over at the small group, and Ziva, who had walked up behind them.

"Well, we have to go home now, so maybe we'll see each other in the future Ducky! Bye Jimmy." Tony said, as he, Ziva and Kate left the classroom.

Ducky watched them leave, before turning to Palmer, who was still patiently standing there. He gave the boy an encouraging smile, and soon, Jimmy was once again listening to his stories from the interesting side of his job experiences.

###

Tony and Kate walked home side by side after school. On the way, Kate began to chat about her dreams about what she wanted to do when she grew up. She had always wanted to make a difference for the country, and she thought that becoming a criminal profiler would do the trick. To Tony, it was one of the most boring things he had ever heard. So, after a while, he gave up listening.

"Tony?" She waved her hand in front of his face. "Hey! Are you ignoring me?"

"What's there to ignore? All you're talking about is doing well and changing the world!" He said, as he turned to her.

"That's a great deal to be proud of!" She argued.

"Yeah, but don't you wanna have any fun in your life at all?" He folded his arms behind his head and stared at fluffy clouds filling up the blue sky.

"Making a difference IS fun!" She said, and brought him back down to earth roughly.

"No! I mean like, you know, travel the world, fall in love, spend a day doing nothing?" Tony said as his mind drifted off once more.

"Isn't that boring? Nothing would get done!"

"Oh gosh, Kate! You're so hard to please! Why don't you just become the president's bodyguard or something?" As he said this, Kate stopped to seriously consider it. She suddenly smiled brightly and hugged Tony.

"Oh my God!" Kate shouted happily and raised her hands to the sky with glee. "That's the best idea you've ever had! I'm gonna beg my parents to let me train as soon as I'm finished with school!" She immediately ran off in the shortcut towards her house, leaving Tony standing on the sidewalk, shaking his head with a chuckle.

He heard a shuffle of feet behind him and he smiled. "You can come out, Ziva." Almost immediately, she appeared next to him.

"Your arrogance is undeserved. I came out of hiding well about two blocks ago." She frowned when she noticed his smug smirk when he 'caught' her.

"Yeah sure, Zi." Tony said dismissively.

"I just wanted to say that what you did with Jimmy back there, was very nice." She said.

"I think the word you're looking for is 'heroic', Ziva." Tony grinned.

"Hmm. No, heroic is a bit too much." She scrunched up her face in thought, and laughed when she saw his dramatic expression.

"Zi!" Tony gasped in mock surprise, making her laugh even harder.

Before he could expect it, she had leaned towards him, pulled him closer by his coat, and kissed him lightly on the lips. She pulled back quickly, pushed him away and walked off without another word, leaving a shell-shocked Tony standing behind her, trying to recollect his thoughts that were currently spilled all over the pavement.

He absentmindedly touched his lips where hers had just been. She had just stolen his first kiss, and she probably didn't even know it. He didn't know where he was headed, but he just walked ahead.

###

Hey Guys! It's the end of another chapter and I hope you enjoyed it:) I will probably be ending this story soon, because it was never meant to be so long. :) So, I hope you enjoy the next chapter(s), however many they may be. I haven't decided yet. Also, since my holidays are almost over, I am not too sure when I can post the next chapter but hopefully, it won't be too long

I'm open to any suggestions you guys have:) any story ideas/characters you want to see? Leave me a review and let me know^^ You can also just leave me a review just to let me know whether you liked this chapter and how you think I'm doing with it:D I can take critisisms too:3

So, I hope you guys had fun with this chapter.

Until next time,

~Lianna


	4. Chapter 4

Child's Play-4

A/N: Hello :D Okay, I've finally gotten through with this chapter;) haha. I had a bout of writer's block and seeked out some advice from my awesome editor/beta reader, JellieEllie, and she gave me a FRIGGING cool idea that inspired me to do something for this chapter. That idea, blossomed into the better part of this chapter, so I hope you like this3 Sit tight folks, it's a long one, because this stretches over to the next chapter haha;)

Disclaimer: I've been slaving hard over this story for a long time now. Can't we do a shared credit? No? Okay:(

###

Her face was flushed with embarrassment as she ran all the way home. She quickly went into her room and closed the door. What had she done? She asked herself, as she paced the floor. She had just given him her first kiss, and she was sure he didn't know it.

Tony was the kind of person whom she figured, had already lost his first kiss to some random girl long ago, so it probably didn't matter all that much to him. Still, she had just kissed him and ran away, so he must have thought that she was really weird. She started blushing when she remembered how cute was his shocked expression after that kiss.

The doorbell rang and she headed down the stairs to answer it, but froze midway. What the heck was he doing here? She thought. She was about to run back when her younger sister zoomed past her towards the door. Tali opened the door with a bright smile, like she had just eaten a tub of ice cream. "Hello Tony!" She shouted.

"Hey there, little ninja! I'm not deaf, you know. You don't have to shout." Tony said as he gave her a quick hug. He glanced up, eyes looking for any sign of her older sister.

"Are you looking for Ziva, Tony?" She asked innocently.

"Yep, and I know that you're a little ninja, which means that nothing can escape you, right?" He asked, and smiled mischievously when he saw her face flush with newfound pride at the nickname. "So, will you tell me where she's hiding?"

"Yep! She's hiding under that table over there." Tali nodded excitedly, pointing towards the kitchen. Following this, came an irritated sound from Ziva, as she shoved her sister into her room, and dragged Tony into hers.

"I was not hiding, Tony. I dropped something under the table earlier, and I was simply searching for it." She explained with a huff. He, however, ignored her, and looked around her room.

"I never thought you'd be someone to play with G.I. Joe." Tony said with a marveled tone, as he picked up a toy that was sitting on her shelf.

"I outgrew that long ago." She said, but she blushed when she snatched the toy back from his grasp. She threw the toy into a toy box without proper aim, and turned back to an awestruck Tony. "Explain."

"I think I should be the one asking that." He replied. She bit her lip and looked at him quietly for a minute.

"I like playing with you, and I want you to play with me more, instead of Kate." She said stubbornly, and refused to look him in the eye. The truth had to come out somehow, and she refused to wait until it was too late before telling him.

Ziva had overheard her parents discussing the matter of them staying in America a while ago. She was actually quite fearful that her parents would really just pack up and go before she or anyone else could react. After all, her father was the one who controlled their household. He had told them before, that staying in America was just a temporary thing, and so she didn't dare to get attactched to anything, until now.

Tony looked up at the smaller girl standing before him. She was idly playing with her long hair and looking at the floor. Her face was a slightly darker shade of red than usual, and Tony found it quite adorable that she was so nervous. It was only when she started to look at him curiously, that he realised she was still waiting for his answer.

Instead of speaking, he stepped closer to her, and placed his hands on her cheeks. He gave her a quick peck on the lips, to which she turned away in a blush after he pulled away.

"What was that for?" She asked, as she tried to mentally calm herself down while distracting him from staring at her so intensely.

"For stealing my first kiss, and then running off." Tony replied, as he tugged on a strand of her hair. "You wanna come over and play tomorrow?"

She pretended to think about it for a minute, making Tony swat her on her shoulder. She turned to him and nodded eagerly, and the scene reminded him that the two sisters were really alike in some aspects, despite the age gap.

Just then, Tali suddenly pushed the door open and jumped onto Tony, pushing him to the floor. His arms and legs were pinned to the floor. He figured that Ziva had been training her sister well.

"Ziva, did I do it right?" He heard the little girl ask excitedly. Her hold on him was weak, because she kept laughing, but he didn't want to disappoint her, so he kept still.

"Yes, Tali. You got him well." He heard Ziva reply, and he could almost see Tali glow with pride and happiness.

"Hey girls! I know I'm being dominated by two girls right now, but I think I'd be more use if I was sitting up." He heard the two sisters giggle at his comment, and felt Tali climb off his stomach after a while.

He now had a big ninja and a little ninja to keep him company everyday, on top of Kate's. He could get used to thought as he watched the two sisters chat excitedly in their mother tongue. With all the secret glances that they were giving him, he was quite sure of the topic that they were discussing, but at that moment, he was just happy to be there with them.

###

The knocking at the door refused to go away, forcing a sleep deprived Tali out of her dreamland, to crawl out of bed. Where was her sister when she needed her? She thought, irritated.

After trudging down the stairs, she reached the door and was awakened immediately when she opened it. "Hey there, little ninja! Nice PJs!" Said Tony, as he chuckled at the little girl, who was still wearing her white and pink pajamas. She looked like she had not fully woken up yet.

"Mmm, mornin' Tony. Just a second." She said, as she rubbed her eyes sleepily and turned towards the rooms. She took a deep breath, and shouted. "ZIVAAAAA GET DOWN HERE!"

Tony felt like the force of the scream pushed him backwards at the volume of her voice. He wondered how such a small sized girl could fit such a big pair of lungs. "Aren't you afraid you'll wake your parents?"

"Tony, it's 12pm. Only I would sleep this late. My father is working now and his walls are sound proof, my mother is probably out." Tali said, after giving him a look. Just then, Ziva came hopping down the stairs, apologizing.

"Sorry! I could not find an outfit that looked nice." Ziva mumbled, as she picked up her bag. She was dressed in dark blue jeans, with a light blue top, which matched her skin tone perfectly. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and adorned with a simple, black headband.

To Tony, she looked stunning, to say the least. He stood there staring at her, until the two sisters laughed and Ziva pushed his mouth closed with her hand. Tony recovered fast and bid a quick goodbye to Tali, before leaving the house.

"What'd you get her? It had better be really good, 'cause I think we're slightly late." Tony asked, as he craned his neck to peer into the bag she was carrying. She pushed his neck away playfully, and switched the bag to her other arm, so that he couldn't see it.

"Aww, come on Zi..." He groaned. "She's a girl, you're a girl, I'm not. I wouldn't know what to get her." He titled his own bag to show her what he got, but she wasn't interested.

"Tony, I am sure that Kate will like whatever you give her. She is probably already happy that you are going for her party anyway." Ziva answered kindly, as she touched his shoulder lightly.

This piece of information calmed him down immediately, and a bright smile appeared on his face once again.

As they neared the house, Tony noticed that there were a lot of people he didn't recognize, and an unfamiliar, queasy feeling grew in his stomach. Kate had probably invited everyone she knew, meaning, about half the cohort. However, he immediately put on a charming smile when Kate came running towards them.

"Hey Kate! You're already one year older eh? I can see the lines on your face deepening." Tony said as he leaned in to give her a hug. Kate pulled back instantly, placed both her hands on her cheeks and gasped in horror. She elbowed him in the ribs before turning around to hug Ziva tightly.

Ziva headed off to find Abby and Tim, and Tony continued to pester Kate for the hug that she denied him.

###

Not long after Tony's arrival, Kate gathered her close friends and sat them down in a circle, in the middle of her living room. Her parents were out working, so Kate could do whatever she wanted, since Rachel was more lenient to her.

Kate was slightly disappointed when she found out that her parents had left early, but she knew that it was expected. Her father had stopped coming to her birthdays after she turned 5. Her mother, when she was 8. They both took their jobs very seriously, and didn't have much time to spend with her.

She half wanted to ask Tony if he would sit next to her, but decided that it was too forward. However, he voluntarily came to sit with her anyway, and Ziva sat down with Abby and Tim across from them.

"Alright guys, how about a game of 'Truth or Dare'?" Kate asked everyone. The response was mostly positive, as the only person who found the game slightly unappealing, was Tim, because he was afraid of what he might be asked to do.

"Great! Unfortunately, since Tony is here, we need to up the game a little." Kate flashed a quick, teasing smile at a surprised Tony sitting next to her. He smiled back, already guessing what she had in mind.

"So, this version, allows everyone to have a chance to try out all of the choices. We all start out with a choice of truth, dare, double dare, triple dare, and promise. However, once you make a choice, you can't choose the same option again." Kate explained the basics of the game to the rest of the group, knowing that Tony has played this before. They always have a lot of fun coming up with crazy dares for others to do.

"Use your truth option wisely, Tim." Tony laughed, knowing that the boy always chose truth, and would never willingly perform a dare.

"Alright, so let's spin the bottle to find out who goes first." Kate said, and spun the empty Coke bottle sitting in the middle of the group. The bottle cap ended up pointing to herself on her first try, and she burst into laughter. After a few tries, the bottle successfully 'chose' Jimmy as its first victim.

"So Jimmy, Truth, Dare, Double Dare, Triple Dare, Promise?" She asked.

"Um...let's see. I think I'll choose Triple Dare." He said uncertainly. The group immediately applauded his bravery, for daring to choose 'double dare', when it was Kate who was asking the question.

"Okay, then. I, triple dare you, to go and kiss Michelle." Kate said with a smirk after she and Tony shared a glance.

"What!" He spluttered, and turned to look at Michelle, who stared back at him, looking just as surprised.

"Hey! You CHOSE triple dare." She pointed out, and the others nodded sympathetically. He groaned and crawled over to the small Asian girl leaned in, and paused in mid air.

"...on the lips?"

"No, on her head. What do you think?" Kate said sarcastically. "It's a dare, after all."

"Really, it's okay, Jimmy." Michelle smiled kindly at the flustered boy. "The dare is only for a peck, so don't think too much into it."

"Right, right." Jimmy said. Having Michelle's reassurance was good enough to ease him into making the move to close the gap between them. He knew that some way or another, he was lucky that Kate was nice, and didn't ask him to kiss someone like Ziva. Not that he didn't like her. It was that he would fear for his life, should he even try it.

The kiss was short and easy. They didn't use tongue, and it was over pretty fast, much to Jimmy's relief. He had to remind himself that in future, should he ever play this game again, not to choose dares, especially if Kate was the one asking. He went back to his seat without much more delay, and spun the bottle. It landed on Tony, this time.

"Alright!" Jimmy said excitedly. It was his time for payback, but Tony wasn't looking the least bit concerned.

"I choose Double Dare." said Tony, with a smirk. He wanted to see what could innocent Jimmy come up with.

"A-ha!" Jimmy smiled. "I, double dare you to kiss Erica Jane, for 10 seconds." For a split second, Jimmy saw a mix of hesitation and fear appear on Tony's face, and he spared a quick glance to Ziva and Kate. It disappeared just as quickly as it appeared though, so, he got up confidently, and went over to the blonde and bright eyed girl.

"I think I would prefer calling you, EJ." Tony mumbled to her, before kissing the laughing girl. Jimmy started counting down out loud, and he suddenly felt the cold glares from two of the girls in the room on him. He immediately regretted his decision, because he knew was going to be killed by Kate and Ziva, before he could become a medical examiner. It WAS ironic, in a way.

At the end of 10 seconds, Tony released a dazed EJ, and walked back to his seat looking half guilty, and half smug. Kate gave him a glare, and Ziva refused to look him in the eye. He licked his lips, and spun the bottle. It landed on Abby. She didn't hesitate to answer.

"I choose Truth, because I can take on ANY dare you can give me." Abby smiled deviously at everyone and folded her arms proudly.

"Okay Abby, is there anyone you have a crush on now?" Tony asked. He was half surprised to see her freeze, and her face turn a darker shade of red.

"Um...yes." She said quietly. She shifted her body uncomfortably and bit her lip, not wanting to look anyone in the eye at that moment. The rest of the group were curiously passing looks around, trying to guess who was the guy.

After a moment of silence, she spoke. "H-hey. The question only asked IF I liked anyone, not WHO was he. So, move along." She then realised that she was the one who was supposed to spin the bottle, and quicklt did so, with much embarrassment. It landed on Ziva next.

"Okay. I choose Triple Dare." She look on her face showed that she was up for anything they could throw at her.

"AWESOME! I knew you'd step up! Ziva, I want you to go over to someone that you've been thinking about for the past week, and kiss him/her on the mouth." Abby said excitedly, rubbing her hands together. She had noticed that her friend had been more happy than usual, and wanted to find out why. It was just in her character to do so.

"He isn't here right now." Ziva answered calmly.

"Uh." Abby was stunned at her reply. She didn't know how to respond to that. "Um...Who was it?"

"My father." Ziva answered with a knowing smile.

"Hey! That can't count. I meant someone who isn't a relative!" Abby said.

"Oh, okay." Ziva replied. She paused for a moment, before setting her sights on Tony. She came cautiously towards him, before finally sitting in front of him. The rest of their audience was silent, she stilled in her movements. She was hesitating.

Tony thought it was very sweet of her to do so, and simply whispered that it was alright. She nodded as she pulled him towards her, and pressed her lips against his. Tony kissed her back immediately, and felt her relax when he moved his arms to her back, to keep her close to him. He was surprised that she didn't pull away when he tried to deepen the kiss, but instead, she drew herself closer to him.

Tony was distinctly aware that Kate had been staring at them with an expression of shock and hurt on her face. She suddenly turned her face away from everyone, and quietly excused herself to go to the washroom.

Tony gently pushed Ziva away from him, and got up to follow her. He turned back to the group, who was still silent and shocked at Ziva and him. The only one who seemed normal, was Abby, who winked at him and mouthed that she knew that it was going to happen someday.

He ignored her, but told the rest of the group to continue the game without him and Kate. He gave Ziva a quick look that she understood. It meant that he needed to handle this himself, and she should back off. So, she went back to her seat, cleared her throat, and spun the bottle, directing everyone's attention to a very nervous Tim.

###

HELLO my fantastic bunch of readers:) So, how was the chapter? I am quite satisfied with this one, because I know where my story is going to head next. Plus, I thought the linking was done properly:$ heehee.

What did you guys think? Did you like it? Please leave me a review to let me know what you guys think, and if you have any suggestions or questions:) I will be glad to answer them. Or, you could just drop by to say 'hi':D Hope you guys liked this chapter:3 Oh and just to let you know, enjoy the length of this chapter, 'cause the next one is significantly shorter:x

Until the next chapter,

~Lianna


	5. Chapter 5

Child's Play-5

A/N: Hiiii. Proper Author's note is at the end of this chapter. I know you guys probably wanna read this chapter, so I'll make this quick. I wanna say thanks to everyone who made my day with your comments for the past few chapters. I really appreciate it.

Plus, I just wanna say THANK YOU to my awesome Beta, JennieEllie, for editing my chapter and being reachable at all times:) you're awesome and I love you:) Your ideas are the best3

Disclaimer: don't own this, and I never will.

###

Kate was sitting on top of the low wall surrounding her house. She had bunched her knees up close to her chest, and was staring emotionlessly at the sky. That position was exactly how Tony found her, a few minutes later. He sat down by her side, and reached out to touch her shoulder comfortingly, but she flinched sharply. He retracted his hand with a sigh. They stayed like that, in silence, for a long time.

"See those birds?" She spoke turned his head to her, and she pointed skywards. He nodded. "They seem to be flying without a care, don't they? Well, at least that's what most people think." She sighed, and started playing with a blade of grass.

"What people wouldn't know, is that, those birds are probably only trying to get away from the people that want to kill them. So, their seemingly beautiful flights all began from sorrow and fear." She said again, and Tony focused on her eyes. Her usually lively, brown eyes were glimmering and lifeless, and he knew that she was trying not to cry.

She dropped the grass blade, pushed the hair that had been falling in front of her eyes, behind her ear, and stood up. She made an attempt to walk away, but her movements were stopped by a hand on her own. It was only then, that she looked at the boy who had always been next to her, the boy that she slowly fell in love with, and the boy that had been ripped away from her.

"What do you want, Tony?" Kate asked. Tony tugged at her hand gently, and pulled her back down beside him. He swung both his arms around her, and hugged her to his chest without saying a word. She found herself too emotionally drained to struggle. So, she placed her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes as she hugged him back.

"You know I love you,Tony?" She whispered into his shoulder sadly.

"I know, Katie, and I'm really sorry. You don't deserve to be sad, or to even learn about me and Ziva like this, on your birthday! I'm such a jerk." He cursed under his breath, and ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. Kate looked up from her position and giggled at him. "At least you know it." She said and gave him a small smile.

"Are things going to change between us? After all, you've got Ziva now." She asked. Honestly, Tony's heart broke when he saw the state that Kate, his best friend, was in. She had always been guarded when it came to matters of the heart, and here she was, bearing her entire soul to him, and he couldn't do anything to console her.

"I don't see why they should." Tony said, and cupped her face with his hands, so that she would look at him. "You're my BEST friend Kate. No one, and I mean NO ONE, is ever going to replace you for that." At this, Kate gave him a genuine smile that reached her ears.

After a bit, Kate unhooked herself from Tony, came down from the wall, and dusted the dirt off of her white shirt. Tony and her were on their way back to the house when Tim suddenly came running up to them. He was shirtless, and panting, beads of sweat trickling down his pale skin.

"Boy, you really need to get out more, McGeek." Tony said, comparing Tim's fair skin to his own tan skin. Kate chuckled, but stopped herself from laughing too loudly, because she didn't want to be malicious. Before anything else happened, Tim revealed the bucket of water he had held behind his back, and dumped its entire contents on Kate.

Kate stood there, startled and open mouthed, as the water dripped down from her hair, and her soaking clothes. Tony jumped back on instinct, to avoid getting splashed, but his eyes were glued on Kate's chest. Once she realized what he was staring at, she immediately slapped Tony hard on the shoulder. "Hey! Tony! You're already taken, so take your wandering eyes somewhere else!"

She then turned sharply, to a very frightened Tim, and her eyes narrowed. She began to fling stray droplets of water to the side, and squeezed the water from her clothes. "Tim, you have 3 seconds to explain yourself." Tim stuttered in fright, and Kate stepped forward and grabbed him by the ears. "Time's up." She announced.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Sorry, Kate! I-I ran out of truths..." He gestured to himself and pleaded.

"What?" Kate asked, as she looked around to see where Tony had disappeared off to. Tim pointed to his chest, where his shirt should be. "This was my dare." He pointed to the bucket, and said "This was my triple dare."

"What about your double dare?" Kate asked uninterestedly.

"Well, after completing the dare, I figured, how bad could it get? I guess I was wrong." Tim trailed off as Kate gave him a disgruntled look.

Just then, Tony came bounding back up to them, holding his still-wrapped present up to Kate. "I figured that now would be just as a good time as later." He explained, when Kate gave him a blank look as she tore open the wrapper, and looked at the camera curiously.

"This present was meant for you to make memories with, so why not start now?" Tony said, and snapped a picture of a soaking wet, yet grinning, Kate. He held up the instant photo as the ink dried, and Kate found herself quite pleased with how it turned out. She wrapped her arms around Tony, to give him the hug that she had denied him earlier.

###

The three of them reached the living room just in time to watch Jimmy perform his triple dare, asking his secret crush, Breena, for her number. From the looks of it, Breena said "yes". Jimmy looked triumphant, as he made his way back to rejoin the group with a spring in his step. Kate whipped out her camera, and snapped a shot of Jimmy in the midst of his happy dance.

"You're right. This IS fun." She whispered to Tony, as the group ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the camera, and the instant photo that came out, while Jimmy looked horribly embarrassed. Tony gave her a smile, and went over to Ziva, who was still sitting at her place.

"Hey." He said to her.

"Hay is for horses." She responded, and looked up at him with a smile of her own. "But hello,Tony."

"We're still on for our playdate this week, right?" Tony asked, knowing what she had been thinking about. He wanted to clear up any remaining doubts she had, about him. She turned to him, an element of uncertainty still present in her expression, but she nodded anyway. "If you would like."

"I would." Tony responded immediately, giving her a smile that made himself feel more confident and proud than ever.

"That's good!" Both of them turned to see Kate standing next to them, beaming, and holding her camera. "C'mon guys, I need to take a photo with you!" She pulled the two of them up to stand beside her, and gave her camera to Abby.

Abby squealed as she looked through the camera lens. "Ohmygosh! The three of you look so good together!" She snapped the photo and mumbled something about making a few copies of it, before running off towards Rachel, who was offering dessert in the kitchen.

The three of them shrugged simulataneously, and followed her, after realising that they were the last of the party, still in the living room.

###

Tony was standing in the middle of the backyard, after having eating an entire packet of chips by himself. The atmosphere was quieter than usual, because most of the guests were still inside the house. His back was to the house, and so, he didn't notice the slight rustle of leaves when Ziva came up behind him.

"Ow!" He yelped, as she poked him in the side with the tip of an empty Coke bottle. He spun around in annoyance, to face Ziva, while rubbing his hand over the sore spot. "What was that for?"

"Hello Tony, you owe me a Promise." She said, with a smirk on her face.

"What?" He said, still in shock and pain. He scratched his head, and tried to remember when that particular event occurred, but was unsuccessful. "When did that happen?"

"During your talk with Kate." She said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe.

"Then, it doesn't count!" Tony argued, and folded his arms.

"Yes, it does. The bottle pointed to your spot..." She reasoned.

"Okay, but still, I wouldn't choose Promise." He countered, even though he knew that she was probably going to win the arguement. 'She has a way of getting anything she sets out to do.' He thought.

"I chose it on your behalf, since it was my turn to ask the question." Ziva said, with a smile, knowing that this was a one sided battle, and she had already won.

"Fine. What is it?" He asked, defeated. He unfolded his arms and hung them at his sides. She gave him a smug smile when he admitted to losing, but then, her smile became more shy, and all of a sudden, she couldn't really meet his eyes.

"Promise me, that you will stay with me forever?" She said softly, unsure if he would think that she was thinking too far ahead. After she managed to get it out, she met his eyes again.

"Forever is a really long time..." He started, and Ziva's face fell. She felt really stupid at that moment. Who was she to ask him for something he wasn't ready to give? She had only thought that in case something should happen, she would have someone to fall back on.

"...But I wouldn't want to spend it with anyone else." Tony continued, and suddenly drew her into his arms. She hugged him back instantly, a smile blossoming on her face. The fluttering in her stomach turned into a radiating warmth, and it made her feel as if she was glowing with happiness inside.

Out of the blue, Ziva pinched him in the side. He gasped in pain, and jerked away from her, in an attempt to shield himself from any other sudden attacks. However, she swiftly blocked his escape route and grabbed his shirt, holding him still.

"That's for being an idiot." She hissed into his ear, before letting go of him and walking back to the house. She could still hear him laughing, as she closed the back door, and a smile of her own betrayed her true feelings.

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Hello readers:) I want to apologise for the super shortness in the length of this chapter:( I was advised to split this last chapter into two, which I did, willingly.

The next chapter is the Epilogue:) I'm really happy that I could write this for all of you. This has been my favorite story to write so far, as it was the most fun and interesting one:) Or maybe, as I should say, I had the most inspiration while writing it;) so thanks everyone, for reading my story. I hope you guys have enjoyed it:)

Hope you guys can leave me a review to tell me what you think? I would really appreciate it:D thanks:)

Until next time,

Lianna


	6. Chapter 6

Child's Play-6

A/N: Hello readers:) It's awesome to see you again. My beta, JellieEllie, told me to write another chapter to explain what happened, and tie up some stuff. So, here you have it! The epilogue/last chapter of the story:) I hope you enjoy it;)

Disclaimer: I wish I could own a few characters of the show, but sadly, I'm not rich enough. :( But can you imagine what it would be like if you own someone like Abby or Ziva? You could make them do whatever they want 0w0 heehee:)

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-6 years later-

Tali David stared at the blank screen of her cell phone and sighed. The arguement had been going on for about exactly 7 minutes, and neither side showed any intention of giving in, just yet. Frankly, she wasn't worried, because this was quite a regular occurance with Tony and Ziva.

She looked up from her position on the floor, and watched the two parties trade verbal barbs, as if there was no tomorrow. If they noticed that they had a spectator, they didn't show it; or maybe, they were already used to her being the sole witness to many of their couple spats. Tali's gaze drifted to the computer screen at the table. The laptop was half shut, but it hadn't been shut down yet. She got up slowly, so as not to attract any attention to herself, and closed the previous window. A wallpaper of the Tony, Ziva and Kate smiled back at her. It was one of the rare pictures that she had not already seen.

From the looks of it, it had probably been taken a while ago, before Kate left town to study criminal psychology about two years back. They hadn't heard much from her after that, except that she was having fun, and that she missed them. Frankly, Tali found it a little silly, for someone to miss someone else quite so much, and yet, not make an effort to keep in touch.

"Why won't you listen to what I say? I'm just trying to help you! I can bet that you've never considered that some things that I say, can actually be considered as USEFUL!"

"I did not ask for your help, Tony, nor do I need it!"

"You're really impossible to talk to, sometimes."

"You are the one being very childish and immature, Tony. I sometimes wonder why I am even still here, putting up with all of your nonsense."

Tali ran her hands through her curls, as the angry words continued to be thrown back and forth between the couple, their voices getting louder each time. Tali's hair had grown quickly, with the time that had passed, becoming just as long as Ziva's. She had not straightened it, unlike Ziva, which gave Tony a basis to tell them apart. He had always complained that the two looked so similar.

It happened so often, that she began to wonder what his reaction would be, if Tony were to accidentally kiss her, instead of Ziva. The thought made her smile, even though she expected that the outcome would be, both of them being slaughtered by Ziva, if she found out.

She risked a glance back at the arguing couple, trying to recall the event that had sparked the verbal sparring.

"So, are you saying that I'm not good enough to be your boyfriend?"

"I never said anything like that."

"Well, not out loud, you didn't."

"Well, considering I had, what would you have said to that?"

"I would say, great! Go ahead and find yourself some other mature guy that you deem worthy enough to be considered as your boyfriend! I wish you good luck, 'cause I bet the poor fool wouldn't be able to put up with you for long."

"Your lack of self-esteem is appalling. Since you put it that way, maybe I will!"

"Heck, go ahead and take on that new guy that you're sitting with. His name's Ray, isn't it? Sunshine Ray. You guys will make a great couple."

Their young bystander simply rolled her eyes at Tony's jealous statement. She also found herself to be quite proud that her sister had finally mastered the skill of sarcasm. On the other hand, it meant that she had been spending too much time with her boyfriend. She found it quite amusing, actually, that Tony took Ziva's angry statement literally.

Realisation finally hit her, as she remembered what the whole fight had been about. The argument had began with a simple question of how they would spend their last summer of high school. Unbeknownst to Ziva, Tony had already started thinking about his options, and whether he should enrol to college early. It would mean that he would leave town, and most likely end up like Kate, not returning. Tali knew that her sister really loved her boyfriend, and that her anger was just a cover up for the hurt that she felt, at being left out.

She wanted to say something, or even knock their heads togeter, but she felt that it was wiser for her to stay uninvolved. Who knew if they might ask her to choose sides? Somehow, a simple situation had the potential to spiral into many other arguments.

"I did not plan for us to be partnered up, Tony. It was the teacher's decision. Anyway, I did not hear you complaining when you were partnered up with EJ."

"That's different!"

"Is it? Because it is YOU? Tony Dinozzo, the notorious playboy, can flirt and tease whoever he wants, but his girlfriend cannot even SIT with another guy without getting reprimanded. You are not one of my parents, Tony, and even if you were, you have no right to control my life."

"Okay. I'm sorry, Zi. I shouldn't have used Ray as a low blow. It was stupid, and I regret it."

"Yes, it was."

"I probably should have told you about my plans to leave, too."

"Maybe, but I do wish that you had told me when you were making the decision, so I would not be caught off guard."

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore, because I'm not planning on leaving this place anytime soon."

Suddenly, the floor vibrated, temporarily disrupting their arguement. Ziva gave her sister sidelong glance before turning back to Tony. A very embarrassed Tali quickly picked up her phone from the floor with a flustered look. She looked at the her homepage tentatively, as an image of Abby popped up on her screen.

'How's everything going with our favourite couple?' Her text message read.

Tali smiled affectionately at the girl who had become almost like a sister to her over the past few years.

'They are still arguing, but things seem to be calming down a bit.' She typed back, and continued to eavesdrop on the others, who had resumed their squabble-turned-conversation.

"Tony, you should not have to give up your hopes of further education because of me."

"It's not because of you, it's because of me; and a promise I made to someone."

"It was just a game! There was nothing serious about it."

"I was serious when I made that promise, and I don't intend to break it."

Tony said the last part with such finality, that even Tali looked back up at him from typing. She had not expected him to respond this way, although she knew that he thought it was necessary to emphasize that to her sister.

She also noticed that as Ziva quietly considered this, she was slowly letting down her defenses. Her sister had really changed, over the course of her new relationship. She had become a more fun person, who smiled a lot more than before she had met Tony.

Ziva's voice became quiet when she replied, it was so low that Tali almost couldn't hear it. To be honest, she wasn't sure if she was even supposed to.

"Alright. I trust you."

"Eh, it's no big deal. Besides, I'm doing so badly in most of my subjects. I think the only one that I can major in without failing, is probably physical education."

"I guess so."

"Don't look so serious, Zi! Everything will be fine."

"You cannot predict the future."

"No, but I can tell you, that I will remain by your side for as long as you'll let me."

At this, Ziva fell silent once more. She wasn't used to him sharing his feelings with her. However, the silence was more comfortable, compared to the tension filled atmosphere from earlier.

Just when Tony didn't expect it, she launched herself forward into his arms, into a fierce hug. He wrapped his arms around her, but wasn't sure how to react to the sudden display of affection from his girlfriend.

A smile began to sneak onto Tali's lips. Watching this couple argue and make up, was certainly better than watching any drama on television. A full blown grin formed on her face when Ziva pulled back and kissed him.

It was the only time that she spoke up.

"Hey guys! You should really get a room when you start to argue, you know?" The two of them pulled back slowly, and grinned at her.

"You could have left the room anytime you wanted, Tali." Her sister said, with a smirk. Tali rolled her eyes and ignored her.

"I bet you enjoyed watching me get grilled, didn't you?" Tony grinned. "Both of you are so sadistic."

Tali turned to him with a bright smile lighting up her face, as Ziva whacked him on the shoulder, not too lightly. He frowned at his girlfriend, but it was a teasing one.

The look caused Ziva to smile, and Tali to giggle. She was almost certain that in a few years, she would be thinking of what to write in her maid of honor's speech. From what she just witnessed, Tali decided that she wasn't too far off from the truth.

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That's the end everyone:) Thanks for reading and tolerating my crazy ramblings and nonsense, as well as giving me some really sweet reviews:) I haven't had time to reply to each and every one of you, but I have read all of them and I am really touched that you took the time to send me one:) Each of them reallu encouraged me to keep writing;) love you guys:

Even for those who didn't, I'm glad you liked the story enough to keep reading:DD Hope you all liked it:)

I plan to keep writing fanfiction for NCIS, so I hope next time you'll consider reading more of my stories if I post them:B also, for people who read circumstances, YES I am going to update it:3 I've been having exams, so writing is a little slow.

Special thanks to my dear JennieEllie, who's been encouraging me non stop through this journey! You're an awesome friend to have3333

Review for the last time, please? :)

Until next time,

~Lianna


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